Oh, I loved this. It was enthralling, vivid, and compelling. I connected with the main character and wanted to know what happened. I guessed the murderer early on but wasn't able to figure out how. The twist was one that made so much sense, when revealed.

I really enjoyed the characters and the world of this story. I also enjoyed the back and forth timeline. I actually typically do not like when the narrative jumps around in time, but Ware did a great job of making each timeline interesting.

Recommended.

Hannah de Chastaigne has a beautiful life. She is married to the love of her life and their baby will be born soon. But when convicted killer John Neville dies in prison, she is thrown back to the worst time of her life. When she was a freshman at Oxford, her best friend, April Clark-Clivedon, was murdered. It was Hannah’s testimony that helped convict Neville and now she is confronted with the fact that perhaps not everything was actually as she remembered.

I really enjoyed this fun thriller. As is typical with Ruth Ware’s books, I found myself thinking that anyone could be guilty. There was a point where I definitely knew Hannah had made a bad decision and watching that play out was quite entertaining. My favorite thing about reading a Ware novel is that she can still throw in a twist that I don’t see coming.

Definitely recommend grabbing this one. Fun quick read for the weekend or a cabin getaway.

Thanks to Ruth Ware, Gallery Books and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Ten years after finding her roommate murdered, Hannah Jones begins to doubt what happened that night, and the role she played in sending a potentially innocent man to prison—in Ruth Ware’s latest, THE IT GIRL.

April Clarke-Cliveden was the first friend Hannah made as a student at Oxford. Beautiful, vivacious, and captivating – April was the “it” girl on campus. Together with Emily, Ryan, Hugh and Will, Hannah and April were inseparable friends… until Hannah discovered April dead in their apartment.

Ten years later—expecting and now married to Will—Hannah struggles to move on. Worse yet, when the man convicted of killing April dies in prison, she’s approached by a true-crime podcaster who proffers evidence which points to a different culprit.

Hannah spirals into the past, determined to re-examine everything—and everyone—surrounding the mystery of April’s death. Trouble is, the more she digs, the more she realizes those closest to her have been hiding secrets that change everything.

Ware once again crafts a meticulous narrative that immerses you into the mystery. Alternating past and present chapters allow us to get to know (and doubt) each character at play, which from my perspective is the novel’s big draw. It didn't feel as tense or high stakes as other books I've loved by Ruth Ware, it's more of a steady, character-driven 'whodunit' avid thriller readers will nonetheless enjoy.

Compulsively readable and perfect for poolside binging.

Ruth Ware is one of the few authors who NEVER disappoints, publishing books frequently also I don’t have to wait years for more and yet the quality never wavers. The It Girl is divided in past and present, and the past is set at Oxford, which appealed to my love of dark academia and novels set in academia in general. While at Oxford, Hannah returned to her dorm one night to find roommate and best friend, April, strangled to death. April was the kind of effortlessly cool girl people gravitate towards whose privilege can make her overlook the damage her actions can have on others but Ware avoids making her one dimensional by making her intelligent, hardworking, and capable of being very kind and empathetic.

Years later, Hannah is married to April’s former boyfriend and expecting a baby. April left Oxford after her friend’s death and remains haunted by it. Hannah’s testimony helped convict a janitor of April’s murder, and when he dies in prison, Hannah becomes consumed by the questions and doubts she’s tried to avoid about what happened that night and begins digging into the past. This mystery had a creative and totally unexpected solution that fascinated me.

I also admired Ware’s treatment of the characters. I normally dislike when any character important to a story isn’t well-developed (like when a minor character we know almost nothing about solves the crime and saves the day out of nowhere or if the killer is someone we barely read about for 300 pages who suddenly reveals a long, complex backstory explaining everything). But here, Ware masterfully keeps the reader in Hannah’s mind, so we don’t get much depth into the potential suspects in the present because Hannah’s suspicions and theories keep changing and for a long time she’s on the wrong track. Later in the book, however, we learn that the answers lie in details and character traits Hannah tells us in the chapters set in the past, but she doesn’t see their significance or how they fit together until the end. Another compelling Ware novel- highly recommend!!!

A riveting thriller with a twist I did not see coming. The characters were likable with a plot I enjoyed following and everything wrapped up nicely at the end.

I have read every book Ruth Ware has written and have never been disappointed. If you like thrillers, I would highly recommend this one and all of her novels! I'm always second-guessing myself about who did it but also think I'm clever enough to figure it out before the book wraps up. I thought for sure it had it this time. Not even close! The characters are well developed and the pace of the book is so great. I love/hate a few of the characters which makes the story even better. I couldn't put it down.

April Coutts-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.

Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.

Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder.

Great thriller. Ware never disappoints. Couldn't put book down. One of my top 5 from the summer. Fans will love this book.

With The It Girl, Ruth Ware is back at it. The It Girl is the story of six friends at Oxford their first year but one of them does not survive it, April. The story is told by alternating between that first year and ten years later. When April is murdered one night it appears that only the creepy porter could have done it but is that the case? Ten years after the murder, John Neville, the porter, dies in prison. Soon after Hannah, April's best friend and roommate, is contacted by a reporter that thinks Neville was innocent. Could that be true? And if so who really killed April.

The book leads us on a journey of discovering who April was and what Hannah is going to do with this theory that April's killer might still be out there. Hannah begins to suspect her closest friends and even her husband, April's old boyfriend, of having killed her. Will Hannah discover the truth in time or meet the same fate as April.

This novel really took us back to the suspense that Ware is good at. Just like Hannah you are constantly trying to guess what really happened. She is great at giving you reasons for everyone to have been the culprit so you keep guessing and trying to say that choice is too obvious but maybe it is them since why would you choose the obvious one. I have never disliked a Ware book but this one ranks towards the top.

The It Girl is a thriller following the murder of a popular college girl and the aftermath it causes to all her friends. April seems to have it all. She's smart, beautiful, charismatic, and fun. When Hannah becomes her college roommate, she and April become fast friends. One night Hannah returns home to find April lying on the floor after returning home from a party. The only suspect is an awkward old porter named John Neville who was seen coming out of the staircase right before April was found. Ten years later, after Neville dies in prison, Hannah begins to wonder if Neville really was the murderer or if he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hannah works to unfurl the mystery surrounding April's death, running into complications along the way.

I have to honestly say, it took me way too long to figure out the twist in this book. I'm usually pretty good at murder mysteries but this one had me tricked. The story itself was slow in a few parts for a mystery. The character development was very well done in this book. Hannah, April, Will, and all the other main characters are described thoroughly and we know a lot about them by the end of the story.

I gave The It Girl four stars. It wasn't my favorite Ruth Ware book but I did enjoy it. The story had me hooked until the end. I would definitely recommend it if you like murder mysteries!

I love the setting for dark academia books, and this one did not disappoint.

I really enjoyed the writing of this book. It is not complex, and the back and forth between the past and present is done really well, and is told from the FMCs POV. The plot and twists were really engaging and kept me interested throughout the book, especially towards the end!

I will say that I wish we had gotten more than just one POV. There were other characters that I found a little more interesting than the FMC that I would have liked to read from their POV, but it was still enjoyable.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I thought the ending had a good twist, and the book kept me guessing the entire time. If you like dark academia thrillers with a whodunnit, this is a great option. I would definitely recommend!

This is not my favorite by Ruth Ware, but it's also not my least favorite.

SUMMARY
10 years ago, Hannah's vivacious roommate, April, is murdered in their dorm room at Oxford. Hannah accuses creepy Oxford porter, John Neville, as the murderer. John Neville is sentenced to prison.
In present day, John has died in prison and pregnant Hannah is contacted by a podcaster who believes that John was innocent which leads Hannah down a rabbit-hole of doubt and suspicions against everyone she knew from that time.

OPINIONS
Overall, I thought the "twist" was too bizarre, and the motive not really fleshed out. Hannah's treatment of Will made me angry. Hannah never seemed like a full character outside of her attachment to April. The book was about 100 pages too long.

Thanks NetGalley for an ARC!

Ruth Ware always delivers on suspense and shocking discoveries. It’s why I don’t need to know the synopsis of her next book before buying it. Readers will believe they have the murderer pinned right away. Then within a few chapters, sometimes only a few pages, the suspicion shifts to someone else. Throughout The It Girl, we are suspicious of everyone. That is what makes this one of Ware’s best books to-date.

COLLEGE IS MEANT TO BE A PLACE OF NEW BEGINNINGS, NOT A SHOCKING END.

Hannah is a bright young woman ready to prove her worth at Oxford. She doesn’t expect to find a best friend in her new dormmate April. The two girls are quite opposite which keeps the balance in their friendship. April comes from “new money” and her wealth and privilege are very apparent from the moment they meet. The bold and entitled personality of April can rub everyone around her the wrong way, yet they all stick around as friends. Sometimes Hannah senses serious tension between her best friend April, and worries of what will come next. It always manages to be ok, until the night she finds April dead in her dorm.

Chapter by chapter, we go back and forth between college life, and Hannah’s post-trauma life ten years later. The back and forth creates a constant tension while reading. I found myself wanting to rush through a chapter in college so I could quickly return to Hannah’s current state of investigation. She lived with the worry and guilt of potentially dooming an innocent man to prison for killing April. His conviction hinged on her testimony, and ten years later she’s finally on the path to finding the true killer. The problem is, her likely suspects are all part of her circle from college. At every chapter we’re just as suspicious as Hannah is of her friends, her husband, and even herself.


The It Girl will keep you reading well into the early hours of the morning. I try really hard not to read books in one sitting, but I couldn’t resist this time. If you like the whodunnit trope, make sure to start reading when you don’t have to wake up for work the next day. 😊

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is another smashing psychological thriller. Once the reader gets acquainted with the characters and the two timelines of the book, one can sprint to the finish with this gripping tale. As always, there are twists and surprises. Ware has become a staple in my reading lists. Her books do not disappoint. I will be placing this book in many patron’s hands.

Another home run by Ruth Ware. The Before and After telling of events of the storyline made for a compelling read. I continually felt there were viable suspects throughout the storyline but was caught off guard by the ending. At times it was hard to believe that the protagonist would put so much at risk, but this may very well be the case of those who have suffered trauma and are trying to come to terms with the aftermath.

I was excited for The It Girl since I have read all of Ruth Ware's previous books, I wasn't disappointed. I especially liked the last few chapters when the suspense level ramped up, but the beginning could have less background. April is definitely the rich girl that everyone wanted to be like and the guys wanted to be with, even playing mean jokes on her "friends". Hannah, her naïve roommate falls into her clutches even playing strip poker on the first night at college. When Hannah finds April dead in their room she gives testimony at the trail which she believes to be accurate until 10 years later when John Neville dies in prison. When an inquisitive journalist contacts her, she starts to question everything she saw that night. It is a great storyline, shoddy police investigating and many twists and turns kept me guessing incorrectly as to who the real murderer was.

This wasn’t my favorite Ruth Ware, but I enjoyed it. It was a tad too long though, and the middle seemed to drag so it felt like it took me way too long to get through it. I did figure out who the killer was pretty early, but that didn’t take away ahh enjoyment for me.

I liked the “before” scenes best. April was such an interesting character. She was actually kind of a terrible person but people couldn’t help being drawn to her. I loved reading about all the interactions with the friend group.

I did think that the reveal/ending was pretty out there. I wasn’t really a fan of how it all played out, especially the reason for April being murdered. It could have gone so many other, better ways. So that probably brought my rating down a little from a four. I’m still a big fan of Ware and will likely read anything she writes.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Longer than most, it starts a little slow, then; college days, and now; married, pregnant, and with a death having thrown her life for a loop. Once it takes off the pages keep turning as the mystery builds and you start to think all of them could have done it, maybe even her.

This book was just so BORING. I almost had to DNF it, it just dragged and dragged on. A lot of the chapters were extremely long, and I felt like they were filled with background information that wasn’t even important. It took me forever to finish this book and the ending wasn’t even that surprising.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This was disappointing. It was about 100 pages too long and slow. I love dark academic but this just didn’t quite get there. The twists at the end when it finally picked up were just ok. I also felt like I didn’t get a sense of each friend in the group. I love Ruth Ware and do look forward to future works.

3.5 stars.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There's a lot going on in this newest Ware offering and I can't really claim to the ability to summarize better or more succinctly that the derth of other reviewers, so I won't bother. What I will say is that the transition between before and after chapters was seemless and exceptionally done. Although just a tad too long, the pacing was good, and I was definitely immersed throughout. Mystery enganging, characters dynamic, and blissfully, while I had narrowed the suspect list down to two by conclusion's end, I wasn't sure which until the big reveal. Always nice. Me thinks it would make a great movie - at least one that I would watch. The author has been high hit and medicre miss, and this is one of my favorites.